Are you on a diet with the goal of losing weight? Perhaps you have changed your eating habits, types and amount of food. If you haven't figured out how many calories a day you need in order to lose weight, you are missing a vital step in weight loss. Knowing how many calories to consume daily in order to lose weight can give you a strategic tool to help to lose the pounds and take out the guess work.
Find Your Basal Metabolic Rate
First you need to know your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. This number tells you how many calories you need in order to function. You need to add in your activity level, since the basic BMR indicates how many calories you need for basic function at rest. Most BMR calculators will ask the activity level and then calculate your calories. For example, caloriesperhour.com calculates your BMR and adds your activity level based on how active you are.
500 Calories A Day
A rule of thumb about weight loss is that 3,500 calories equals one pound. Divide 3,500 calories by seven days and the result is 500 calories. If you consume 500 fewer calories per day consistently, you can lose one pound per week. The other option is to burn 500 calories of what you consume by exercising. Or, you can do both; eat less and exercise in order to have a loss of 500 calories daily. After you get your BMR with activity level calculated, you should deduct 500 calories to give you a calorie level to stay at in order to lose one pound per week. For example, if your BMR with activity is 2,200 calories, you should substract 500 calories. That would mean you should not consume more than 1,700 calories daily in order to lose a pound a week.
Account For Those Calories
Once you know the number of calories per day for weight loss, account for them. Keep a food diary and write down what you eat for each meal and snack, and add up your daily total. It might be time- consuming at first, but it will get easier. This way you know for sure how many calories you are taking in, and if you are on the right track. It can also help you visualize where you might need to make changes. There are calorie counters online you can use to find calories for foods, such as the food calories and nutrition calculator at caloriesperhour.com or the my pyramid tracker at mypyramid.gov. If you are also exercising to burn calories, then caloriesperhour.com and mypyramid.gov also have an activity calculator that tells you how many calories are burned for various exercises and activities.
Tracking Progress
Now that you have your daily calories set, you should start to see results in the next few weeks. Try to weigh weekly instead of daily, so you can see gradual changes. During weekly weight checks, caloriesperhour.com recommends weighing yourself first thing in the morning. Don't get discouraged if you don't see the first pound come off right away; sometimes, it takes the body time to adjust. If you are certain that you are staying very close to the daily calorie consumption, the weight will start to decrease.
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